Best Of
Re: CT and Lung Nodules
I recently had an abdominal MRI as part of my BRCA1+-associated pancreatic cancer screening. It was reassuring to see in the report a mention of my lung nodule -- stable! 👍
kks_11
Re: Your Voice Can Shape Clinical Trials | Participate for $100 gift card!
Thank you @moderators — they did reach out to me directly with similar messaging. It should be an interesting study!
kks_11
Re: Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
f__kcancer - a warm welcome although we are sorry you are once again having to get on the hamster wheel known as breast cancer. Feel free to lean on us for support.
Justforher - how are you feeling after the port installation?
Betrayal - yuck! Your weather sounds safe awful. Do you still have power? I heard a bomb cyclone is headed your way this weekend. Stay safe.
petite - fingers crossed the 2 spots on the mammo are benign. Glad you are in Florida but temps in the 20s can certainly cause problems for you. Any issues with frozen pipes?
Carole - holy cow - you are still so cold. Stay safe.
Cindy - perhaps you could send some of the 86 temps to the rest of us?
Had my last visit with the MO yesterday. My WBC is still low and actually dipped a bit but all other bloodwork including neutrophils are (barely) within normal limits. In the absence of any other signs or symptoms she is comfortable discharging me with the caveat that if anything changes significantly with future bloodwork ordered by my PCP I should reach out to the her. The MO is not concerned with my ongoing fatigue as long as I can do all necessary daily living activities. I’ll continue to see the GYN oncologist for the foreseeable future however, he only orders the CA-125 blood test.
DH has an appointment with a nephrologist in two weeks as recent bloodwork at his PCP indicates possible kidney disease. We’ll see.
I’m working on puzzles and a photo book of my trip to Spain to keep busy during the bitter cold. I’m still getting to the gym at least 2x week but I’m also making use of the exercise bike in my basement. The MO told me a small amount of outdoor exercise daily might help my WBC but did acknowledge that current weather conditions of sub-zero temps and ice are less than ideal. Given that in good weather I’m outside most days walking, hiking and biking, I’m a bit skeptical that her advice will make much difference.
I’m also working on which activities and day tours we want to do on our upcoming trip to Vietnam. We are not on an organized tour as our preference is to arrange things on our own to provide maximum flexibility. Most of the time this works well for us.
Waving ‘hi’ to everyone.
harley07
Re: Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
One of the secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.
betrayal
Re: All about Xeloda
@eleanora I would rethink those groups, if I were you. As the only Stage 4 lady I was able to share my chemo history and information to the others. We dwindled down to about 12 members as social media groups increased, but 5 of the early staged ladies had recurrences that made them Stage 4. As we know, that does happen a lot. And in those cases, they consulted me for information about treatments.
Also, Stage 4 ladies all have different treatments. If you look at my history, it is completely different from yours.
As far as Facebook groups, you can use an alias, and there are several groups that might help you. They don't have the closeness that we have since there are so many women in those groups, though.
There's even a group that I am in that is for ER+, PR-, Her2-, which is not a common dx.
denny123
Re: All about Xeloda
Thank you for your responses. Denny, I tried the hospital closest to me (not where I'm being treated) and they said I would be welcome in either of their groups, although they didn't have any stage IV members, let alone a stage IV group! Since I want to find my "tribe" I thanked them and declined.
I have never had social media accounts, as I don't believe in the safety of our information with those groups. The stage IV group I've been invited to join tries to meet in person once a quarter and I'm looking forward to that.
Threetree, I hear your concern about further lines of treatment and perhaps it might cheer you to review the clinical trials thread. Cure-ious frequently seems to have hopeful news.
eleanora
Re: My Husband, My Life, My Love, My Family, My Cancer
@mara51506-It sounds like good news that no cancer was found in the area. Will you have to go back now or reschedule the head CT? Did you say earlier that you don't have a winter coat? That seems impossible for a Canadian. My go to coat is 11 years old-I bought it as Costco for $39 in 2015 and still wear it all winter. It still looks good-it's not a dress coat, just a basic down jacket. Probably the most economical purchase I've ever made.
Hope you can relax now and enjoy your day.
Re: I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!
Call your Senators and ask them to oppose DHS funding unless enforceable guardrails are in place.
ruthbru
Re: Brain Mets Sisters
I cannot play Chopin on the piano but I do watch the movie Impromptu frequently. You get the music plus a young, dreamy Hugh Grant and Judy Davis, great light, entertainment.
I will confess my somewhat guilty secret again. When the day is right, I take some Ritalin and lortab and do a moderate version of my old workout at the Y. 20 mins on treadmill (more if revved up, but not so much that "tomorrow" is horrible). And a slow, moderate, weightlifting session. Minimal weight, nice slow reps. Long stretching session to follow.
The thing is, this makes me almost too energetic for a few days. I have to watch it or will collapse in 3 days. Well, collapse is an exaggeration.... but, you get my meaning; moderate for a good pay-off. The Supportive Care specialist says this is very appropriate; using Ritalin to energize my body in order to get muscle tone. She said muscle atrophy is a nasty impact of cancer and treatment and does not bode well for survival.
My two cents.
K-Lo
Re: How are people with liver mets doing?
@ailurophile , I am sorry you have to go through this but are you getting real surgery (ablation) or SBRT or similar radiation to the spot? Liver is a very large and well-recovering organ, so recoveries in both cases should be okay. As for SBRT recovery should be easier/quicker though, as it is not an invasive procedure. Please write us how it all goes and many hugs,
Saulius
bsandra